- European Parliament votes in favor of new European rules for cryptos
- These impose new traceability requirements for transactions
- As for the MiCA law, it protects consumers
Champion of the regulation of new technologies, Europe is advancing in the development of new rules governing cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. In the pipeline for some time, these rules have just been approved by the European Parliament. The next step is now approval by the Council, before publication in the Official Journal of the EU.
MEPs approved by 529 votes for, 29 against and 14 abstentions the text aimed at making crypto transfers traceable. As for the MiCA regulation, it obtained 517 votes for, 38 against and 18 abstentions. The objective of the EU is to have a uniform framework in all member countries. And this new set of rules aims to make crypto transactions as traceable as those in traditional finance, protect consumers, fight money laundering, and more.
The “travel rule” for cryptos
The first text approved by the European Parliament aims to trace transactions and block suspicious ones. And for that, it applies the “rule of travel”, already applied to traditional finance, to crypto transactions. Concretely, during a transaction, the information on the initiator and the beneficiary must “travel” with the funds and be kept at both ends. And this will even apply to transactions made from self-hosted wallets, when the sum exceeds 1,000 euros.
“The overhaul of the TFR will require crypto-asset service providers to detect and stop criminal flows of cryptocurrencies and will also ensure that all classes of cryptocurrency companies are subject to all anti-money laundering obligations. ”explains Ernest Urtasun, co-rapporteur of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the transfer of cryptoassets.
MiCA: the famous European rules
On his side, the MiCA text aims to better regulate service providers related to cryptocurrencies in the European Union. This includes consumer protection measures, measures against market manipulation, against money laundering, and transparency requirements, so that investors are better informed about the risks associated with digital assets.
According to Stefan, rapporteur on the MiCA regulation, this text puts the EU at the forefront of this industry. “Consumers will be protected from deception and fraud, and the industry that was damaged by FTX’s collapse can regain confidence. Consumers will have all the information they need and all underlying risks related to crypto-assets will need to be monitored”he also says.
MiCA also includes an environmental component, since the main players will be obliged to communicate on this subject. The new European rules also provide for the establishment of a list of players who offer crypto services in the EU without authorization.
